Commentary

PATHETIC – That’s the word I believe best describes President Biden’s TV appearance Thursday night.  On one hand, there were those who had high expectations on the one-year anniversary of the pandemic.  On the other hand, there were those with mixed expectations.

I am sure there were Biden supporters who were pumped.  It was to be his first prime-time address to the nation. The bar was set low.  All he had to do is stand there, looking presidential, and read from the teleprompter.

However, you just know there were those who were sitting on pins and needles; their guy was being criticized for not facing the media for good reason.  He had muffed the words projected in front of him before.

HE DIDN’T LOOK PRESIDENTIAL, if there is such a “look.”  His long walk to the lectern past the flags of the states reminded me of a Trump staging, That’s where it ended.  Why the mask?  Through most of his 20-minute speech, he stood there stiffly, reading his script with little expression. It was only toward the end, when he appealed, “But I need you, the American people, I need you,” that he leaned forward with his hands outstretched.

I was reminded of President Trump’s frequent references to Biden’s “low energy” campaign.  Biden emitted no energy, no emotion, as he stood there. 

The speech itself was a repeat of his “dark winter” remarks.  He began with death statistics, reading numbers from a card pulled from his pocket, comparing them to those killed in previous wars. And his grim outlook didn’t stop there.

As he spoke of vaccine production, one would have thought he rescued the nation. “There wasn’t nearly enough vaccine supply.”  But he, Joe Biden, worked with manufacturers to produce and purchase hundreds of millions more. The speech was interspersed with untruths, lies.

There wasn’t even the slightest credit for President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed, the public-private sector event that brought those same drug companies to the table.  No mention at all for the miraculous effort it took to produce the vaccines in months, not years.

His taking credit for the progress made in the distribution of vaccines is hardly the  solution to ending the divisiveness he continues to say exists.  Along with racism, of course. He’s not serious about unity.

This was followed by his four steps leading to his hope of a “good chance” that we will all be able to gather with families and friends on the Fourth of July.  However, “That doesn’t mean large events with lots of people together,” he cautioned.

Surprisingly, he paid tribute to Dr. Fauci, referring to him as “one of the most distinguished and trusted voices in the world,” at a time when even the media is turning on him for his mixed messages.

There was the obligatory mention of his signing the misnamed Covid-19 Relief Bill, that we all recognize directs just nine percent of the $1.9 trillion bill to relief.

His speechwriter felt it necessary to insert a passage that assured us that the vaccines were safe, having gone “through a rigorous scientific review,” as if we wouldn’t understand that, adding that “Vice President Harris and I know they’re safe.”  LOL

His conclusion was more of the same.  There was no hope or inspiration. Just an urging to “stay vigilant” with the warning that “we may have to reinstate restrictions.  This is not a time to let up.”

Then why is he allowing illegals with the virus to migrate to all points?

REGARDING THE COVID-19 “RELIEF” BILL – We’re still learning what’s in it, yet we are to believe that it is widely popular.  Three quarters of American’s support it, including 60 percent of Republicans, according to a Morning Consult survey.

But you and I know that’s because of the $1,400 checks many people are expecting.  Or, you may be the family of four that could receive $12,000 in benefits, with the child tax credit just might become permanent.  “Free money” people like to say.

But did you know black farmers will receive over $4 billion. That smells a bit like reparations to me.

THE BILL IS A JOB KILLER – Biden’s swift move to kill the good-paying jobs on the Keystone XL pipeline was one thing, but to provide the unemployed with reasons not to go back to work is another. 

It is estimated that five to eight million fewer Americans will be employed over the next six months.  In addition to their stimulus check, there’s a weekly $400 bonus in unemployment benefits on top of normal weekly benefits.  Then, add the $3,000-a child tax credit, the expansion of food stamps, rental assistance, and expanded health care benefits.

In Kansas, a family of four with two unemployed adults who had earned median wages could get paid more than $13,500 on an annual basis without working an hour, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal.  In Massachusetts, where unemployment benefits are the highest in the nation, that figure would be $170,000.

“The Biden package will exceed the wages and salaries of at least 85 percent of households,” the Journal states.

I would like to think that most Americans will choose the dignity of work over government handouts, but “the Biden benefit package makes going back to work a money-losing proposition,” the Journal notes.

So, the progressive-liberal-socialist transformation begins.

Now, more than ever … may God continue to bless the United State of America.